The Freak's Rating: A+ : Growing up the son of a good-old-boy, westerns were one of the only things on televsion I remember watching with my father. At the time I was more likely telling him they were boring, but I have grown up a tad in my critique. I can remember him speaking of John Wayne, how so many "cowboys" in modern times weren't half the man Wayne was. He is right. Emilio Estevez' Billy the Kid in the Young Guns franchise would have been laughable compared to a true western hero like Wayne. When I first heard of the remake of True Grit, I immediately thought of my father. Turns out I was right to, True Grit is a phenomenal western worthy of every ounce of praise it is receiving.
Westerns are a difficult genre as they are rather polarizing. Audiences were once in love with the western, wanting nothing more than to see endless sequels to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and couldn't get enough of any film where Clint Eastwood could chew a piece of straw in his mouth while gunning down bank robbers. It is a simple story telling method, one that drops back into a good vs evil tale and one that, sadly, the younger generation can't seem to embrace,
Jeff Bridges continues to dominate my best actor charts as Rooster Cogburn. Though Bridges would normally steal every scene, he yields nearly every moment to his supporting cast. In an amazing turn as Mattie Ross, Hailee Steinfeld is on her way to an incredible career. She is wildly entertaining to root for. Matt Damon, Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin are also a nice stable of actors here, giving solidarity to every second of screen time True Grit demands.
Direction and writing is top notch, as we have grown accustomed to with the Coen brothers. True Grit stays true to the original in nearly every capacity, but buries it on entertainment. Where the original lags a hair, the remake never lets up with pacing. To see True Grit ommited from the Golden Globe awards shocked me, but when I saw The Tourist nominated for anything beyond "Largest piece of crap" the credibility I have for the HFPA dropped dramatically. Look for True Grit to cleanup come Oscar time.
Angie's Rating: A+ : Being related, you could argue that my review is like the one given by "The Freak" in that we shared similar experience by the same person. It constantly surprises me how movie experiences reveal and connect people and their real life experiences. I can tell you that our experience are not with the same person, but exactly the same. My grandfather was not the easiest to get to know and made my sister and I sit through old westerns, especially John Wayne and True Grit, while we wished we could watch cartoons. His values and his hero were emulated in this movie. I went to see the modern day True Grit with a draw that was beyond the big name actors and the young talented director. I am blown away by this film! It is a masterpiece, so well done, I enjoyed it as much or more than Grandpa G would. Not only that, but I saw myself in Mattie and my grandfather in Rooster Cogburn. It's like HE is immortalized in film. Im definitely owning this one. :) Love you Grandpa!
